GREENHOUSE PEST MANAGEMENT
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Archive for March, 2011
It’s Spring! It’s Termites :(
Even though it’s still cool in the mornings, Spring is in full swing! That means a lot of different things; the birds are chirping more and more, half of us can hardly breathe due to allergies, and all the insects and other critters are all moving about working on mating rituals and the like. We’ve talked about this before with carpenter ants specifically, but one of the mating rituals that can really become a nuisance to us and our property is swarming termites. Seeing a swarm near your home could indicate that there are termites present at your property.
In early Spring, colonies of subterranean termites that are healthy enough to produce reproductive members do so in preparation of their mating season. These “winged” members of the colony all take to the sky (or your living room) looking for suitable mates from other colonies that have also taken to the sky. They meet in the air, break off their wings, mate, then find a new home to start a colony. Certain conditions will trigger this annual event, and we’ve already received a bunch of calls to prove that it’s already happening this year
Subterranean termites can be found throughout most of the country, but are heavily concentrated in the Southeast. It can be quite intimidating to witness one of their swarms as they could number in the thousands. Different species of termites, like Formosan termites, swarm later in the year and will swarm at night. Subterranean termites swarm during the day and the swarmers are essentially harmless, unless they find a mate and start a new colony…then you’re obviously talking about some potential damage. It’s estimated by the National Pest Management Association that termites cause over $5 billion in damages per year in the United States alone.
How to get rid of Wasps
If you have small children, or if you or a family member is allergic to bee stings, there is nothing scarier than a wasps’ nest looming down from a tree or gutter near your home. But having a nest in your yard isn’t an insurmountable challenge — YOU can get rid of wasps’ nests without getting stung! All you need is the proper protection and the right insecticide, and you’re good to go.
This article will tell you where to find and how to get rid of wasps’ nests.
- What Nests Look Like
- Locating the Nest
- Getting Rid of the Nest
The term “wasps” encompasses many different species. The ones you’re likely to find in the United States are Baldfaced Hornets, Paper Wasps, and Yellow Jackets.
All wasps are social insects, with colonies in which queens, males, and workers cooperate to survive as a population, and live in a nest. The nests of each of these types of wasps look different. Knowing what kind of wasps nest you’re dealing with will help you get rid of it.
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets build basketball-sized, papery nests. To make the nest, they chew wood fibers until they dissolve into a papery substance which they then paste together into walls and individual chambers inside.
Paper Wasps
Paper wasps use the same technique to create the papery walls of their nests. Unlike yellow jackets and baldfaced hornets, paper wasps’ nests have only one comb instead of many chambers. The nest is shaped like an umbrella, and these wasps are sometimes known as umbrella wasps.
